1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to athletic apparel and more particularly to an improved shoulder pad device for football players and other atheletes involved in contact sports that will afford protection for the shoulders, collar bone, biceps, sternum, ribs, clavicle, pectoral muscles, lateral aspects of the scapula and the humerous bone. Also, the invention contemplated herein is not bulky, is not cumbersome, but is lightweight and capable of receiving high intensity blows without breaking and also capable of absorbing a major portion of the energy created by the blow and distributing this energy over a wide area, thus protecting the football player from injury. Further, the football shoulder pad device contemplated herein is assembled without the use of even one rivet. Any element comprising the shoulder pad may be removed from the completed assembly simply by the disengagement of a Velcro strap, no special tools are needed. Elements may be added to the assembly as needed depending on the requirements of the user.
Further, the invention contemplated herein does not limit the body movements of the player, thereby permitting this invention to be used by linemen, backfield men, and quarterbacks. Each player on the team requires a certain kind of protection because of his position, e.g. linemen, and some less, e.g. quarterbacks. The ease with which the shoulder pads can be assembled, since there are no rivets nor screws used, enables the shoulder pad assembly to be assembled for the player depending on his position. In fact, to carry this premise to the extreme, the shoulder pads contemplated here can be repaired, assembled or modified during a ball game, quickly and efficiently.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with shoulder pads and the like. For example, back in 1900, U.S. Pat. No. 653,544 discloses a shoulder pad comprising two halves formed out of heavy leather. Generally speaking, all shoulder pads have the same construction, i.e., they are formed of two half sections that are rigid or semi-rigid tied together at the back and at the chest. Also attached to the inside surface of the two half sections will be some kind of padding which is usually stitched or riveted to the half sections. From 1900 to the present, improvements have been made to the shoulder pads by the addition of additional shoulder cups, rib protection, hip protection and improved armor type materials and padding. The shoulder pads manufactured are held together by rivets or other similar type retaining means. Modern type shoulder pads are usually the cantilever type shoulder pads which allow the player increased mobility without loss of protection.
Not only is it important to provide a shoulder pad that gives the player the ultimate in protection and mobility, but it is also important to the entity that provides the shoulder pads and other equipment that the shoulder pads be economical in price and easy to maintain. All of the prior art shoulder pads require dozens of rivets in the manufacture of same. This makes the manufacture of the shoulder pads very costly. Also, in order to make repairs to the shoulder pads, it is necessary to have special tools in order to remove the rivets and make the necessary repairs.
Looking at 1981 U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,227, which discloses a modern day shoulder pad, it can be seen that it is constructed of a multiplicity of members, moveable and non-moveable. It is held together by rivets and/or straps which in turn are affixed to the armor material with rivets.
The present invention provides a great improvement over the prior art by providing an improved shoulder pad which is economical to manufacture, simple to repair without any tools, easy and comfortable to wear, and which is, to a great extent, lighter in weight compared to the prior art devices. The present invention is an improved shoulder pad completely assembled without the need of any mechanical fasteners.